The present invention relates to automatic textile spinning and winding, and more particularly to apparatus for providing a constant supply of circulating bobbin tubes between automatic textile winding and spinning machines.
Automatic textile spinning machines conventionally utilize for operation a supply of at least twice as many bobbin tubes as there are spindles and automatic textile winding machines conventionally utilize for operation a supply of at least twice as many bobbin tubes as there are winding stations. In addition, generally 40 to 60 tubes are needed in the automatic circulation path between winders and spinning machines as a compensating reserve to accommodate fluctuations in supply and demand.
In the combined operation of spinning machines and winders, yarn is spun and wound into bobbins on tubes at the spinning machine, the bobbins are conveyed to the winder and unwound from the tubes with the yarn wound into packages, and the empty tubes are conveyed to the spinning machine for reuse. For efficient operation an uninterrupted supply of tubes must be available for feeding to the spinning machine and an uninterrupted discharge of tubes from the winder must be provided, and this should be done in a manner that continues the supply of tubes to the spinning machine when the winder is temporarily stopped and continues to allow discharge of tubes from the winder when the spinning machine is temporarily stopped so that interruption in operation of one will not interfere with continued operation of the other.
Also, during such combined spinning machine and winder operations damaged tubes, incompletely wound bobbins, and tubes on which yarn could not be caught are removed from circulation, reducing the number of tubes in circulation until they are repaired and returned or other bobbins substituted at periodic intervals. This requires a reserve of tubes in the circulating system that is sufficient to accommodate expected depletion due to removal of malfunctioned tubes and to accommodate periodic replenishment of tubes in batches.